The Tall Man
by JessCM09
Summary: A one-shot inspired 14x05 except what is JJ and Emily were a couple. Just a bit on how our two favourite ladies deal with JJ's past together.


**Okay so I haven't watched last night's new episode yet but last weeks was amazing! One of my favourite episodes! I loved the JJ back story and AJ Cook did such a great job. I loved all the JJ/Emily moments as well but I couldn't help putting my own little spin on the episode! It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted but I really hope you enjoy it all the same! Thanks for reading! I promise I'm going to get back to my regular series now!**

 **PS. I do not own Criminal Minds!**

 **The Tall Man**

Any morning spent with her 3 favourite people was a great morning for Jennifer Jareau. The blonde profiler was up early, waking to find Emily Prentiss fast asleep beside her. Emily had been living with JJ and the boys for a few months now and JJ still couldn't get used to the fact that she got to wake up like this every morning. Her relationship with Emily had been a long time coming, and when they finally admitted their feelings for each other it was if their lives had finally fallen into place.

JJ and Will had divorced amicably and it wasn't long before Emily and JJ revealed their relationship to their family and friends, none of whom seem all that surprised by the news. Henry and Michael were unfazed by the change in their Mother's relationship with Emily since they both loved spending time with "their Emmy".

Kissing Emily's forehead, JJ decided to leave the brunette to sleep, wanting to make breakfast for everyone before work.

JJ checked in on both boys before going down to the kitchen, knowing Emily's alarm would go off shortly and she would wake the boys just like she always did when JJ was already up. Turning on some music JJ got lost in her preparations for a while, dancing and singing along until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

"Morning Mom," Henry greeted, allowing JJ to turn around and wrap him in a hug; JJ still amazed by just how grown up her little boy was getting. "Are you making eggs?"

"Scrambled," JJ nodded, kissing the top of Henry's head. "Just the way you like them. Where's Michael?"

"Emmy's getting him dressed," Henry replied, snuggling closer for just a bit longer. "Can I help?"

"Why don't you get the plates and everything out," JJ nodded. "This should be ready in a few minutes."

"Smells good down here," Emily called a few minutes later, entering the kitchen with Michael on her hip, the youngest blonde still looking sleepy as he wrapped his arms around Emily's neck, laying his head on her shoulder. "You could have woken me up you know. I would have helped with this."

"You did help," JJ gave Emily a quick kiss, which put a smile on the brunette's face. "You got the boys ready, that is a huge help. You awake there Michael?" She asked her youngest, tickling his side to get him to lift his head so she could kiss his cheek. "There's my little smiley boy. You want some eggs?"

"Yes pwease!" Michael beamed, wiggling to be put down so he could run off to the table and sit down next to his brother.

Filling plates for both boys and Emily, JJ felt like mornings didn't get any better than this one, getting the ketchup Henry asked for before turning around to see Emily reading her phone with a concerned look on her face.

"Do we have a case?" JJ asked, ruffling Michael's hair before grabbing her own cell and reading the message from Garcia, her stomach immediately dropping as she read the location, moving into the kitchen and hearing Emily approaching behind her. "Is this for real? It's…we have to…"

"East Allegheny," Emily nodded, reaching out and taking JJ's hand. "You haven't been back there in a long time," she stated, knowing that JJ's hometown was a bit of a touchy subject for the blonde.

"That's because I promised myself I wouldn't go back," JJ replied, squeezing Emily's hand, trying to prevent herself from giving in to the panic she could feel settling around her. "That place I just...it's so…"

"You don't have to go," Emily was quick to tell her, already forming excuses in her head for the rest of the team, willing to do anything to protect JJ. "We can handle this without you if you don't want to go. You can even work here with Garcia if you wanted to, I'm sure you wouldn't even have to explain it to her she would get it and she probably wouldn't even ask questions," she continued, watching the confliction on her girlfriend's face. There are two girls missing in the woods though so we really need to get out there and find them, it has already been…"

"Wait did you say they're in the woods?" JJ interrupted, her attention finally back on Emily, her focus back.

"Yes, according to the one who made it out the three girls went out there looking for someone or something," Emily shrugged, unsure what three teenage girls could possibly be looking for in the woods.

"I know what they were looking for," JJ's blue eyes met Emily's dark brown. "I know exactly what they were looking for."

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Emily could tell that JJ was having a difficult time from the second they got the text about the case, but it seemed like things were only getting worse for her girlfriend, who she kept catching staring off into space as if she wasn't really there at all. Emily was worried, but she knew that JJ was processing a lot at the moment and really didn't want to make things worse until she knew the blonde was ready to talk.

It wasn't until they found out about Bethany's secret boyfriend and she and JJ were trying to figure out what exactly she and this secret boyfriend had planned for Chelsea that Emily finally knew she had to do something to help the woman that she loved so much. Looking over to find JJ once again staring off, her eyes glazed over with tears, Emily felt her heart breaking at not only the sadness but the fear she could see in the blue eyes she loved so much.

"Jen," Emily called out, breaking the blonde's trance. "You wanna talk about it?" She moved closer, subtly placing a hand on the blonde's knee since they were still at work.

"Look ever since we took this case; ever since we got here all of these…" JJ began with a sigh, obviously going through some emotional turmoil. "All these memories have been coming up and they are not good memories. You know?"

"About Rosaline?" Emily asked, even though she knew the answer, wishing JJ would meet her eyes.

"Yeah," JJ nodded, doing her best not to cry. "Like that morning she took my father's razor…" She paused, not used to talking about this day to anyone. "I found her and I…I just stood there…frozen…for probably ten minutes," she couldn't control the tears anymore. "It's like my brain couldn't um comprehend what I was seeing. You know sometimes I think…I think that's why I took this job; so I would always know what to do, so I would never freeze again. Can you…can you give me something to do Emily because I, I am starting to freeze up again," her voice cracked as she finally looked up at the brunette.

"Okay, um," Emily immediately grabbed a file off the table, knowing this was something she could help JJ with; this was how she could make her feel better. "All right, Luke and Tara are going back to Ally. They are going to use the EMDR technique on her, it's supposed to be especially effective on schizophrenics. Why don't you go with them?"

"Yeah…yeah okay," JJ wiped her eyes, grateful for something to do, needing a purpose. "I can…I'll do that. I can do that," she nodded.

"Okay, perfect. Good, that's good," Emily replied, watching as JJ tried to calm herself down, putting on her profiler face. "Are you sure you're okay though Jen? I know this all must be so…I know this isn't easy and I'm here for you Babe if you want to…"

"I know," JJ interrupted, grabbing Emily's hand. "I know you are and I will…I will want to," she assured her girlfriend, wanting to talk about it, but unable to do so while still working this case. "We will talk about it, just not right now. But soon."

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As soon as Emily saw JJ standing in the hospital outside of Chelsea's room she knew something was wrong. JJ looked distraught but there was also an anger there that wasn't there when they saw each other earlier.

"Jen? What is it? What happened? Bethany turned on her?" Emily asked all at once, knowing she would get down to the anger eventually. "What is this all about? Did you figure out what the jewelry is that she's looking for?"

"It's this," JJ held up her own necklace; the one that Emily knew her sister had given her. "Chelsea saw this necklace and the look on her face…it was one of recognition," she explained, angry tears in her eyes.

"But…but that means," Emily put the pieces together in her head, unable to believe that she was hearing this. "So whoever this guy is that Bethany is dating knew your sister? He…."

"I have been wearing this around my neck. His trophy. This whole time," JJ was visibly shaking, feeling as if she was losing control. "Em I…he…this guy…."

"Jen we will find him," Emily stepped closer, grabbing a hold of the blonde's shaking hand, wanting to make sure she knew she was there for her. "We will find him and we will arrest him."

"I know. But when we do I'm going to need you to keep me away from him," JJ told her, the sadness in her eyes turning to hard and obvious anger. "Because if I get a chance I swear to God I will kill him."

Nodding, Emily squeezed JJ's hand vowing to herself to keep this woman safe, and to be there for her in every way that she could; knowing that this case had opened up a lot of old wounds that she was not prepared to deal with. "Okay Jen," she told her, willing to be the strong one for her girlfriend this time. "Okay."

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Emily had been the one to send Rossi to check on JJ; of course she was. Emily knew that her beautiful girlfriend was close to the edge of breaking down, and as much as she just wanted to take her into her arms and comfort her, she knew that JJ also knew something that could help them find Bethany's mysterious boyfriend, which was why she sent Rossi in instead; knowing the man would know just what to do to help JJ dive into her past.

Wanting to be close by, Emily had listened to Rossi and JJ talk at the door for a while, her heart breaking when she heard JJ ask Rossi if he would go with her when he said she needed to look into her past. Satisfied that she was in good hands, Emily had given the pair some privacy, relieved when JJ had been able to identify their unsub, but instantly worried by what this would mean for her girlfriend.

Emily was both impressed by JJ's ability to keep her head in the case and worried about the impending breakdown that she knew would come eventually. As much as she wanted to pull the blonde off the case when they had brought Ethan Howard in, Emily had accepted the gun JJ had handed her and allowed her to go in and talk to the man; impressed by the fact that she was able to ease Howard's worry enough to get the answer they needed to find Bethany.

"It's over Jen," Emily placed a comforting hand on JJ's back as soon as the case was solved, still feeling rather satisfied by the fact that Bethany had slapped Mr. Howard, wishing she could have gotten one in herself. "It's all over now."

"I…" JJ froze, not knowing what to say, her eyes still full of sadness. "Yeah," she nodded instead, stepping just a bit closer to Emily. "Yeah it is."

"You ready to go home and see our boys?" Emily asked, wanting nothing more than to return home and snuggle with Michael or listen to Henry tell her all about what he had learned in school while they were gone. "I bet they missed you," she added, also wanting to return home in hopes that JJ, her JJ, would also return to her.

"I miss them," JJ gave Emily a tired smile. "I miss them a lot."

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"Jen?" Emily found JJ later that night in Michael's room, the blonde sitting on the edge of the little boy's bed and watching him sleep. "Is everything okay?" She whispered, stepping into the room. "I was waiting for you. Are you coming to bed?"

"I think she would have really loved being an Aunt," JJ spoke as if she hadn't even heard Emily talking, her focus completely on Michael. "I mean I don't really know because we were both so young when she died but…I think she would have loved the boys. I think she would have been amazing with them."

"Of course she would have," Emily nodded, completely understanding. "She definitely would have," she knelt down in front of the blonde, placing her hands on her knees. "Come to bed now Jen. Come on," she held out a hand.

Staring at Emily's hand, it was a few moments before JJ finally placed her hand in Emily's, allowing the brunette to lead her out of Michael's room, and down the hall to their own bedroom. Once there, Emily had gently sat them both down on the bed, keeping a tight hold on JJ's hand as she did.

"Jennifer," Emily's voice was gentle, with just the slight hint of worry. "Talk to me Honey. Please talk to me Baby."

"I…I just don't know what to do with all of this," JJ shook her head sadly. "All this time I thought…I never…"

"You couldn't have known Jen," Emily squeezed JJ's hand. "You know that right? You were only eleven. You were just a kid and Rosaline was older and she was sick Jen. You couldn't have known about her and Howard and you couldn't have done anything differently to help her to deal with it."

"I know," JJ nodded, sighing as she placed her head on Emily's shoulder. "I know that deep down but it's just…I just feel so…" she struggled to find the right words to describe how she was feeling; how the last few days had affected her so deeply. "I always used to wonder you know? I've spent my whole life since Ros killed herself wondering how she could possibly… _why_ she would…and I never thought I would get any answers," she was rambling now, but now that she had started explaining herself she couldn't seem to stop. "Now I have all this new information. I have these answers that I never thought I would get and I just…I thought that I would feel better. But I just…I don't…"

"I know Jen," Emily wrapped her arms around the smaller women, feeling tears beginning to soak her shoulder; literally feeling the moment that the blonde finally let it all go. "I know Baby," she kissed the top of her girlfriend's head. "But you lost your sister. Nothing, no amount of answers, is going to make you feel better about that. It's okay though Jen. You're okay." She held on while JJ continued to cry.

"She gave me that necklace and she…she was trying to protect me," JJ still hadn't returned her sister's necklace to it's usual home around her neck, sure she would never be able to look at that particular piece of jewelry the same ever again. "She made sure he never came near me but I can't help but…I can't help but feel angry. It was the last thing she ever gave me and it was from _him_ ," she sounded angry now.

"I understand that," Emily nodded, vowing to buy JJ a new necklace first thing tomorrow; a locket with Henry and Michael's pictures in it, as she and her fingers through JJ's blonde hair. "I understand, but I think you have to remember that all Rosaline was thinking about at the time was protecting you. She loved you so much Jen. She loved you and she just wanted to make sure that you would be okay."

"I still miss her," JJ had calmed down by now, comforted by the feeling of Emily's arms wrapped around her; soothed by her girlfriend's voice. "I miss her all the time."

"I know Jen," Emily replied, keeping JJ close, willing to spend all night doing just this if it was what JJ needed. "I know."


End file.
